MLB ranks Guardians rotation ninth best in Majors | Jeff Schudel

Mar. 23—Anyone who follows the Guardians closely knows the strength of the team is pitching. Apparently, the starting rotation looks better close up than it does from a distance.

Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com recently ranked the 10 best rotations ahead of the start of the 2024 season. He began his analysis with this disclaimer:

"Injuries and modern management have dramatically reshaped the position. Not only is it difficult to project what the future season holds for starting sets; it's sometimes hard to even rate rotations from completed seasons, as the 2023 Rays — equal parts success and catastrophe — demonstrate."

Castrovince pointed out the Rays finished fifth in team ERA last season, but because of injuries never once got through the five-man rotation they were expected to use heading into the 2023 season.

The Guardians dealt with their share of injuries, too. A shoulder injury followed by two starts and then an elbow injury limited Triston McKenzie to four starts last year. Shane Bieber missed 10 starts with an elbow injury. The Guardians shut down Tanner Bibee with a hip injury in September.

Bieber, McKenzie and Bibee are healthy heading into the season opener March 28 in Oakland. Gavin Williams would be part of the rotation, but he is starting the season on the injured list with a sore elbow. President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti has said the injury isn't serious; Williams just needs to build up his workload once he is cleared to start throwing again.

Castrovince, maybe surprisingly, listed the Seattle Mariners as the team with the best starting rotation. He ranked the Guardians' group of Bieber, McKenzie, Bibee, Logan Allen, Williams and Carlos Carrasco ninth with this explanation:

"This inclusion of the Guardians on this list will look really smart or really, um, not smart, depending on the performances of Bieber and McKenzie as they return from injuries. Thing is, the Guards had the ninth-best starters' ERA and 11th-most innings from starters in MLB last year despite Bieber and McKenzie missing significant time. That was due to the emergence of impressive rookies Bibee (2.98 ERA, 140 ERA+ in 25 starts), Williams (3.29 ERA, 127 ERA+ in 16 starts) and Allen (3.81 ERA, 109 ERA+ in 24 starts). So if Bieber and McKenzie are as sharp as they've looked this spring, Cleveland will again figure prominently in the starting ranks. A wild card in all this, of course, is the possibility Bieber winds up being dealt ahead of his free agency."

The term ERA+ takes into account more than just a player's Earned Run Average. This is how MLB.com defines it: "ERA+ takes a player's ERA and normalizes it across the entire league. It accounts for external factors like ballparks and opponents. It then adjusts, so a score of 100 is league average, and 150 is 50 percent better than the league average."

Here are the eight teams that have a better rotation than the Guardians, according to Castrovince: The Mariners, Braves, Phillies, Dodgers, Giants, Padres, Blue Jays and Diamondbacks. The Astros, Orioles and Marlins are tied for 10th.

It is noteworthy that the Mariners are the only American League team's starting rotation that Castrovince ranked higher than the Guardians' pitching staff.

—The Guardians have not confirmed the report, but according to The Athletic, the team has waived light-hitting center fielder Myles Straw.

The Guardians acquired Straw from Houston on July 30, 2021, for relief pitcher Phil Maton. Straw, an excellent defensive player, batted .285 in 60 games for the team then called the Indians with two home runs and 14 RBI.

The Guardians signed Straw to a five-year, $25 million contract before the 2022 season. Talk about buyer's remorse. Straw batted .221 in 2022 and .238 last season. In 987 at-bats over the last two seasons he homered once, drove in 61 runs and struck out 184 times.

Baseball contracts are fully guaranteed. Straw is due $4.5 million this season, $6 million in 2025 and $7 million in 2026. Any team claiming Straw on waivers would be stuck with those annual salaries, unless they worked out an agreement with the Guardians for Cleveland to pay a chunk of what Straw is owed while the claiming team pays part of it.

Straw has one minor league option remaining. If he clears waivers he could opt for free agency, but that would mean forfeiting the $17.5 million he is owed. If he isn't claimed and doesn't opt for free agency, the Guardians would option him to Triple-A Columbus and remove him from the 40-man roster, but still be on the hook for the balance of his contract,

Straw put on 10 pounds of muscle in the offseason. He batted .345 in the Cactus League this spring with 10 hits in 29 at-bats. He doubled three times and scored six runs, but apparently, the Guardians brain trust isn't convinced he will be a changed hitter.

So now what do the Guardians do about center field? As big a liability as Straw was as a hitter, he was durable. He played in 152 games in 2022 and 147 last season. Right field also is unsettled.

"We're still working through a lot of things," manager Stephen Vogt said March 22 on a Zoom call. "I know Tyler (Freeman) is going to be one option out there, but other than that, with our outfield situation, we're still working through a number of decisions. We've got a lot to work through and we're still doing that."

Freeman, Steven Kwan, and Ramón Laureano have already been told they will be on the 26-man roster when camp breaks. Will Brennan, Deyvison De Los Santos, Estevan Florial are the other players fighting for outfield spots.

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